Flagging Features and Dropping Beats with Ben Rometsch

Flagging Features and Dropping Beats with Ben Rometsch

Author: Skill Issue Studios May 9, 2024 Duration: 1:07:28

In this episode of Whiskey Web and Whatnot, hosts RobbieTheWagner and Charles William Carpenter III are joined by Ben Rometsch, CEO and co-founder of Flagsmith.

The discussion kicks off with a lighthearted conversation about the absence of landscapers at Chuck's house, leading into Ben's unexpected affinity for the New Orleans Saints due to a memorable game at Wembley in London.

Ben shares his journey from running a web agency for 23 years to starting Flagsmith as a side project, which has now become a growing business with 97 percent of its codebase being open-source.

The conversation shifts to a whiskey tasting of Redwood Empire's Lost Monarch, featuring a blend of aged bourbons and whiskey, followed by a discussion on various tech topics including AI in jobs, the value of front-end frameworks, and Git practices.

Later, Ben provides a detailed overview of Flagsmith, emphasizing its open-source nature, the importance of feature flags in development, and how the platform has evolved with contributions from the community, including paying customers. The episode wraps up with personal insights from Ben, including his dream of being an author and his fondness for the video game Parappa the Rapper.

Key Takeaways

  • [00:00] - Opening Banter and Landscaper Tales
  • [00:55] - Introducing Ben and Flagsmith
  • [03:02] - A Deep Dive into Whiskey Tasting
  • [10:31] - Hot Takes on AI, Frameworks, and Git Practices
  • [25:38] - Exploring Flagsmith: An Open Source Journey
  • [32:32] - The Challenges of Staging and Production Environments
  • [33:42] - The High Cost of Configuration Differences
  • [36:11] - The Evolution of Engineering Practices and Frameworks
  • [42:15] - The Business Value of Open Source and Commercial Software
  • [53:38] - Personal Passions: From Tech to Writing and Retro Gaming

Links

Connect with our hosts

Subscribe and stay in touch

Whiskey Web and Whatnot Merch

Enjoying the podcast and want us to make more? Help support us by picking up some of our fresh merch at https://whiskey.fund/⁠.


There's a certain alchemy that happens when you combine deep technical expertise with the warmth of a good conversation, and that's exactly what you'll find in Whiskey Web and Whatnot. Hosts Robbie Wagner, Charles William Carpenter III, and Adam Argyle bring decades of collective experience to the table, but they leave the lecture format at the door. Instead, each episode feels like pulling up a chair with colleagues who are just as passionate about the craft of building for the web as they are about the nuanced flavors in a glass of whiskey. The discussion naturally flows between the concrete details of modern development-like navigating JavaScript frameworks, CSS architecture, or the practical realities of agentic AI and new coding tools-and the broader, human aspects of a software engineering career. This podcast from Skill Issue Studios is built on the idea that the tools and the people who use them are equally important. You'll come for insightful, grounded advice on developer productivity and emerging technologies, but you'll stay for the genuine camaraderie and the occasional spirited debate about which whiskey bottle truly earns a spot on the shelf. It’s a refreshing blend of substance and personality, making complex topics accessible and reminding everyone that there's always a story behind the code.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Whiskey Web and Whatnot
Podcast Episodes
From Librarian to Developer: w/ Roxy Rodriguez-Becker [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:21
Recorded live at All Things Open, Robbie and guest co-host Jason Torres talk with Roxy Rodriquez-Becker about her journey from educator and librarian to aspiring developer, the community supporting her transition, naviga…
Open Source, Agents, and the Next AI Wave w/ Angie Jones [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:17
Recorded live at All Things Open, Robbie Wagner and guest co-host Jason Lengstorf talk with Angie Jones about AI, coding models, and the evolving landscape of open source. They unpack the importance of community-driven t…
Why Open Source Might Be Your Best Career Move w/ Shruti Kapoor [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:07
Recorded at All Things Open 2025, Robbie Wagner and guest co-host Jason Lengstorf chat with developer-turned-creator Shruti Kapoor about her leap from Slack and PayPal to YouTube, the joys and pitfalls of open source, an…
Rust Is Overrated w/ Naman Goel [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:11:10
This week, Robbie and Adam talk with Naman Goel about the origins and evolution of StyleX, how it integrates with React and other frameworks, and the pros and cons of different programming languages like Rust, TypeScript…
npm Worms & RubyGems Coups: Trust Issues in Open Source [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:48
This week, Robbie, Chuck, and Adam talk about the worst whiskey they’ve tasted, Tailwind as a “state management library,” and recent security scares in open source. Also — dependency hygiene, developer visa drama, and wh…
Is CSS a Programming Language? w/ Kevin Powell [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:25
This week, Robbie and Adam talk with Kevin Powell about the quirks and complexities of CSS, from Tailwind and Flexbox to AI’s failure to write decent styles. While sipping some Crown Royal Black, they dig into weird web…
TalkShop Show w/ Macho Man Randy Standards [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:37
This week, Robbie and Adam talk with Dave "Macho Man Randy Standards" Rupert about whiskey, web culture, and the quirks of building side projects. They dive into the shifting landscape of the web—AI-driven development, s…
Agents of Chaos: Whiskey Experiments and the Future of IDEs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:52
This week, Chuck and Adam talk about flavored whiskeys, offbeat experiments, and the chaos of tech culture. They discuss AI workflows, Warp vs. IDE debates, and the realities of coding culture, from bleeding-edge hype to…